The Perfect Secret Santa Present for Your Office Mates

Organizational culture is quite trendy nowadays. HRs continuously bombard us with team activities. Whether it is about a simple team building, meeting or training they keep on coming up with new ideas. With Christmas approaching fast, the topic of presents gains more and more popularity. And how could HRs miss that opportunity. For years now they’ve implemented in most companies the tradition of Secret Santa present exchanging.

Not too bad, but… The usual Secret Santa present scenario is the one where you pull up a piece of paper from a giant glass ball only to find out on it the name of some colleague you don’t know and don’t care about. That’s great! It is great, because everyone expects in such a situation to receive a crappy gift, totally unthought and non personalized. Since stalking is under the penalty of law and not very well perceived, you have to approach the task by a more effective and acceptable way. Besides let’s get real you probably don’t have time to waste on buying a present to someone you don’t care about. Bear with me.

Here is the 5 minute solution to your present predicament. The best part is that you won’t do the heavy lifting – half will be done by us and the other half by the person to receive the present (after all it’s in hers/his interest to get a nice gift).

Send the link below to the unexpecting receiver of your present. To make it less obvious you could send the link to the whole department and make everyone share their results. The quiz is based on Myers-Brigg Personality test, which is widely used in psychological profiling. Below you will find a list of the 16 personality types in the quiz and a present suggestion for each of them. You can find all of the listed items easily in E-bay or just by googling them /in specialized websites/. Or you could make by yourself some of them – check our blog posts for more ideas (empty soda cans or paper flower jewellery, for example).

To the test: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Just follow our advice and you’ll have the perfect Secret Santa present.

Skip to the personality type you are interested in:

• ENTJ – Extroverted Intuition Thinking Judging
• ENFJ – Extroverted Intuition Feeling Judging
• ENFP – Extroverted Intuition Feeling Perceiving
• ENTP – Extroverted Intuition Thinking Perceiving
• ESFJ – Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging
• ESFP – Extroverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
• ESTJ – Extroverted Sensing Thinking Judging
• ESTP – Extroverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving
• INFJ – Introverted Intuition Feeling Judging
• INFP – Introverted Intuition Feeling Perceiving
• INTJ – Introverted Intuition Thinking Judging
• INTP – Introverted Intuition Thinking Perceiving
• ISFJ – Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging
• ISFP – Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
• ISTJ – Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
• ISTP – Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving

“Life would be different, if men’s ability to want one thing, realize another, speak of a third and do forth was absent . But life could be a condition filled with dignity. A life, dedicated to making good deeds is dignified – that’s what makes people heroes. Respect will not be received by a life, whose carrier – languid in false pride – rests. Dignity of life – this is his deed. The reason (sense) of human life is in its potency, not in its existence. Science, of course, is not life, but it is awareness of life…”

Prof. Krasimira Yonkova

ENTJ – Extroverted Intuition Thinking Judging

ENTJ’s traits:

• Able to convert theories into plans
• Attribute high value to knowledge
• Oriented to the future
• Natural leaders
• Decisive
• Inefficiency and incompetence make them inpatient
• Order and structure things
• Admirable verbal communication
• Do not like detail-oriented and routine tasks
• Self-confident

It is in ENTJ’s blood to be leaders and organization builders. They posses the capacity to  identify clearly problems and ingenious solutions for organization’s short and long-term prosperity. They probably won’t be happy as followers, as they strongly desire to lead. In order to use their special capabilities ENTJ’s need and like to be in charge.

Our present proposal for your ENTJ office mate: Wall Art

ENFJ – Extroverted Intuition Feeling Judging

ENFJs traits:

• Have a genuine interest in people
• Attach value to people’s feelings
• Like organization and structure
• Enjoy creating good and harmony
• Extraordinary people skills
• Don’t like impersonal analysis and logic
• Good organizational Skills
• Sincere and truthful
• Imaginative and Creative
• Fancy variety and challenges
• Get satisfied by helping others
• Very sensible to criticism and dissonance
• In order to feel good about themselves look for approval from others

ENFPs are good at a great deal of different things. All that interests an ENFP can bring a good degree of success to him. But it very easy for them to get bored and usually are not very good at completing things. Routine jobs, that require performing a detailed task are to be avoided.  Professions allowing creative thinking and close work with people are where  ENFPs will do best.

Our present proposal for your ENFJ office mate: Pen Set

ENFP – Extroverted Intuition Feeling Perceiving

ENFPs traits:

• Capable and smart
• Have great people skills and are warm
• Extraordinary intuitive and perceptive
• Can to relate to people’s own level
• They will probably put the needs of others before their own – service oriented
• Future-oriented
• Routine tasks bore them
• Wish other’s approval and recognition
• Very friendly and cooperative
• Posses high levels of energy and creativeness
• Their written and verbal communication skills are nicely developed
• Natural leaders, without the desire to control people and resist being controlled by others
• They proceed to a task logically and rationally – in order to understand the goal use their intuition
• Generally are able to understand difficult concepts and theories

Our present proposal for your ENFP office mate: Smartphone Micro Stand

ENTP – Extroverted Intuition Thinking Perceiving

ENTP’s traits:

• Take pleasure in producing ideas and theories – project-oriented
• Creative and resourceful
• Smart and competent
• Flexible and distinct
• Good communication skills
• Like to debate different issues with others
• Extraordinary people skills
• Natural leaders, without the desire to control people and resist being controlled by others
• Posses the skill to motivate others and are cheerful and energetic
• Attribute high value to knowledge and competence
• Think rationally and logically
• Posses the capability to grasp complicated concepts and theories
• Fancy solving challenging problems
• Schedules routine and detailed tasks burden them

ENTP’s have a wide range of capabilities. Whatever has captured their attention – they are good at it. A lot of different careers are likely to be successful for ENTP’s. The choice of professions allowing ENTP’s to have the freedom to use their creative thinking and solving problems capabilities – is a good one. Professional freedom is of essence for them.

Our present proposal for your ENTP office mate: Business Card Holder

ESFJ – Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging

ESFJ’s traits:

• Devoted and Organized
• Needs to follow up things through to completion
• Finds ordering, scheduling and structuring things enjoyable
• Finds interactions with people amusing
• Good-natured and sympathetic
• Have the tendency to put others’ needs above their own
• Great at practical care giving
• Cooperative and fine team members
• Practical and hard-headed
• Assume high value to peaceful living and security
• They find pleasure in variety, but also do well with routine tasks
• They wish to get others’s approval
• Get satisfaction by giving to others
• Dislike speculating about the future and live in the present

Our present proposal for your ESFJ office mate: Coffee Mug

ESFP – Extroverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving

ESFP’s  traits:

• Live here and now
• New experiences excite and stimulate them
• Pragmatic and realistic
• Display healthy interest in people
• Have the ability to have fun and make others have fun around them
• Autonomous and resourceful
• Rarely plan ahead – spontaneous
• Strongly dislike routine and structure
• Hate long written explanations and theory
• Feel special bond with children and animals
• Their aesthetic sense is strongly developed
• Good people skills

What makes ESFP’s happy is having a bunch of new experiences and contacts with people. In order for them to not be bored, their choice of career should be providing them with the freedom to implement their practical prospective and use the great people skills, they posses.

Our present proposal for your ESFP office mate: Bluetooth tracking tag

ESTJ  – Extroverted Sensing Thinking Judging

ESTJ’s traits:

• Natural leaders – they like to be in charge
• Value security and tradition – loyal
• Hard-working and responsible
• Athletic and decent
• They live by a clear set of beliefs and standards
• They are very inpatient as it comes to incompetence or disorganization
• Great organizational skills
• Like making order and structure and are very thorough
• Always follow project’s completion
• Genuine and direct
• Motivated to fulfil their duties

For ESTJ’s doing things the right way is incredibly important, so they will not spare any resource needed. That gives them a wide choice of careers to pursue, since they are good at many things. Their natural drive for being in charge is the cause they’re happiest in a leadership position.  Jobs, that require structure and order are best suited for them.

Our present proposal for your ESTJ office mate: Travel Charging Kit

ESTP – Extroverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving

ESTP’s  traits:

• Oriented to action
• Live in the present
• Abstract theory without any practical application are not for them
• Prefer to have immediate results for their efforts
• Expeditious and energetic
• Adaptive and flexible
• Creative
• Rarely plan ahead – spontaneous
• A fun person to be around
• Very observant
• Details orientated memory
• Great people skills
• Kind
• Posses the ability to recognize a potential problem and quickly devise a solution
• Risk and adventure attract them
• Could be flashy or showy
• They are into initiating things, but din’t necessarily follow them through to completion

The unique traits ESTP’s have are very advantageous. Other people’s motives or perspectives seem clear to them due to their skills of observation. They can correctly analyse and asses those. While interacting with other people they use that knowledge to their advantage. That is the reason ESTP’s make excellent salespeople. In an emergency or crisis situation they will react quickly and most importantly – effectively.  Definitely a valuable skill in action-oriented professions such as police work. Structured or regimented environments depress ESTP’s while experiences and dealing with people lifts their mood. Dealing with high-level theory does not give immediate result, so they don’t like handling a lot of them. These are the reasons, they should be choosing careers involving a lot of interaction with people, and that don’t require performing a lot of routine, detailed tasks.

Our present proposal for your ESTJ office mate: Chocolates

INFJ – Introverted Intuition Feeling Judging

INFJ’s traits:

• Understand situations and people intuitively
• Optimistic
• Principled
• Profound and complex
• Good leaders
• Perceptive and humane
• Oriented towards services
• Forthcoming
• Like deep, pure relationships
• Hardly express themselves truly
• Unless details enhance or bolster their vision, they don’t like them
• Seeking purpose and meaning in everything all the time
• Gifted and visionary
• Fragile and intense
• They use their intuition in order to understand what the goal is and are able to work logically and rationally

The INFJ’s needs lean towards a career rather than just a job. The sync between what they believe to be right and everything they do in their lives, because of their strong value systems. The best career choice for the INFJ is one in which their deeply- held principles are part of their daily lives, and which let them pursue their quest to be doing something meaningful. They do better as leaders, rather than followers, since they posses a strong value system, and constant intuitive visions which lend them a sense of “knowing”. INFJ’s are able to follow happily individuals, leading in a direction which they fully supports, but they will be very unhappy to follow someone in any other situation.

Our present proposal for your INFJ office mate: Mug Warmer

INFP – Introverted Intuition Feeling Perceiving

INFP’s traits:

• Principled
• Demonstrate high interest in people
• Often put other’s needs above their own – service-oriented
• To causes and people are devoted and loyal
• Oriented towards future
• Oriented towards growth – trying to develop in a positive direction
• Gifted and visionary
• Unless a main principle is violated – flexible and easy-going
• Emotional and complex
• Details and routine work bore them
• Original and selfish – “out of the box”
• Great communication skills
• It is possible to experience problems working on teams, because they prefer to work alone
• Assert value to deep and pure relationships
• Desire to be appreciated for who they are and to be seen

A sensitive, special individual such as the INFP needs a career which is more than a job. They have to feel that what they do is moving both them and the others in a growth-oriented positive direction and in accordance with their strongly-felt value systems.  In their lives drives them to do something meaningful and purposeful. Careers, that work towards the greater good of humanity make the INFPs be the happiest in their daily lives. It’s worth noting that almost all of the really great writers in the world have been INFP’s.

Our present proposal for your INFP office mate: Umbrella

INTJ – Introverted Intuition Thinking Judging

INTJ’s traits:

• Posses the ability to understand very difficult an complex theoretical material
• Creating structure and order from theoretical abstractions drives them
• Amazing strategists
• Orientated towards the future
• Able to grasp the “big picture”
• They trust completely their strong insights and intuitions
• Price more their own opinions over others
• Like ambitions theoretical challenges
• Having to do with everyday routine bores them
• Price competence and knowledge
• Disorganization and confusion make them inpatient
• They apply to themselves most strongly their high standards for performance
• Distant and detached from others
• Cool, quiet and analytical
• Very rational and logical
• Original and self-reliant
• Great leaders, but if they fully support someone will follow
• Inventive, creative, original, and resourceful
• Prefer to work alone, as they work best that way

Understanding complex theories and applying them to problems in order to come up with future long-term strategies is INTJ’s brilliancy. INTJ’s successfully match their desire, ability and drive to strategize. They like autonomy in their daily lives and are happiest and most effective in careers, allowing this type of processing.

Our present proposal for your INTJ office mate: Lunch Box 

INTP – Introverted Intuition Thinking Perceiving

INTP’s traits:

• Adore abstract ideas and theory
• They seek the truth and want to understand things by analysing prime principles and structures
• Competence and knowledge are above all else for them
• They apply to themselves most strongly their high standards for performance
• Sometimes eccentric, original and independent
• Highly value autonomy, so they work best alone
• Don’t display any desire to lead or follow
• Everyday tasks bore them
• The practical application of their work doesn’t particularly interested them
• Creative and astute
• Oriented towards the future
• Mostly ingenious and brilliant
• Price more their own opinions and insights over others
• Could appear to be detached and uninvolved with others, because they live primarily inside their own minds

INTP’s special gift is that the posses the ability to generate and analyze theories and possibilities and to prove or disprove them. They understand complicated abstract thoughts fast, because of they creative spirit and great deal of insight. Theirlogical and rational reasoning skills are exceptional, which allows them to thoroughly analyze theories in order to discover the Truth about them. INTP’s drive for clarity in the world, is a happy match of desire and ability. They should choose careers which allow them a great deal of autonomy to be happy and in which they can work mainly alone on analyzing and developing complex theories.

Our present proposal for your INTP office mate: Memo Pad

ISFJ – Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging

ISFJ’s traits:

• They gather about people big, rich inner store of information
• Aware and very observant of reactions and feeling of people
• For important details their memory is excellent
• Their sense of function and space is great, which is why they are very in-tune with their surroundings
• Need to complete things
• In order to get the job done will work hard and long
• Since they are practical and down-to-earth they don’t like working with theory and abstract thought
• They will not do things that don’t make sense to them
• Highly value tradition, peaceful living and security
• Since they are focused on what people’s needs and wishes are, they are service orientated
• Considerate and nice
• Probably will put the needs of others above their own
• Hands-on training is the best way for them to learn
• Like to create structure and order
• Are serious about their responsibilities
• Confrontation and conflict make them extremely uncomfortable

The two basic traits, that define the best ISFJ’s career direction are: 1) they exhibit strong interest about other people’s feelings and are in-tune with them, and 2) enjoy creating structure and order, and they are very good at it. In a perfect world, the career choice for the ISFJ would be one in which their extraordinary people-observation skills to determine what people want or need are in use, and also their grand organizational skills to make a plan or create an environment to help people achieve what they want. In a more practical plan, a profession such as interior decorating and clothes design is perfect for them to show and develop their excellent aesthetic sense and sense of space and function combined.

Our present proposal for your ISFJ office mate: A Plant

ISFP – Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving

ISFP’s traits:

• Environmental awareness
• Exist in the present moment
• Unless they see a practical application of  abstraction and theory they don’t like dealing with it
• They enjoy the present moment on a slower pace
• To ideas and people important to them they are loyal and faithful
• They don’t have the desire to follow or lead and are individualistic
• Even if things appear not to be serious they take them that way
• With animals and children develop a special bond
• Beside the people they know very well, with the others are reserved and quite
• Good people, kind and thrust full
• Their drive to help others makes them service-oriented
• Appreciate aesthetic beauty a lot
• Unconventional and original
• Hands-on training is the best way for them to learn
• Strict control and schedules depress them
• They have to do things their own way, so they need space and freedom
• If they have to will do routine daily tasks, but dislike them

The extraordinary character of the ISFP is the reason such an individual to needs to have a career that is more than a job. Middle ground is unacceptable if they want to be happy. The career they choose should be consistent with their inner values. Savouring the moment and living in it does not fit into a career in some of the more fast- paced corporate environments and they won’t do well there. Freedom and a lot of space is needed for them to function well. By giving a free reign to their natural abilities, they may find within themselves a wonderful artist. Essentially every important artist in the world has been an ISFP. The acute awareness of the ISFP of people’s feelings and reactions, and their inner values to help people, make them perfect counselors and teachers.

Our present proposal for your ISFP office mate: Candle

ISTJ – Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging

ISTJ’s traits:

• Prefer peaceful living and stick to tradition
• In order to fulfil their duties they will work long and hard
• Have to finish their tasks
• Devoted and faithful
• Hard-headed, practical and balanced
• Oriented towards the family
• Things that do not make sense to them discourage them
• If they don’t see a practical application of abstract theory, they dislike it
• Good leaders
• When necessary will do well in a team, but prefer to work alone
• Very observant, they remember facts
• To understand the problems they come upon in their lives they rely on their rich inner store of facts
• Deeply respect concrete information and facts
• They apply rational thinking and logic to make objective decisions
• Unless there is a particular benefit, they don’t like change
• Are very opinionated about how things should be done
• Show appreciation for ordered and structured environment
• Their standards for other’s behaviour as well as their own are very high
• Usually are not in tune with other’s feelings
• If they have put something in their minds they are able to accomplish it
• Oriented towards the community

Perseverance is the main ISTJ’s trait, which gives them a definite advantage in terms of career success. Almost anything they decided to do is possible for them. Anyway they will be happier in some areas more than in other.  The best job for an ISTJ one that allows them to use their perfect organizational skills and where they are able to create order and structure by their powers of concentration. In the corporate business world ISTJ’s will fit extremely well into the Management and Executive layer.

Our present proposal for your ISTJ office mate: Voodoo Note Pad

ISTP – Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving

ISTP’s traits:

• The way thing work interests them
• Controlled, structured environments repress and bore them
• They collect and store facts about their environment all the time
• In order to discover the mechanics of things or solve problems the use their great ability to apply logic and reason to their huge store of facts
• The best learning approach is “hands-on”
• Without a practical application they won’t bother using theory and abstract thinking, although they can master it
• They are action-oriented
• Their focus is on living in the present, rather than in the future
• Attracted by new experiences
• Extremely realistic and practical
• Great ability for solving problems by quickly finding the right solution
• Oriented towards results – their efforts should be rewarded by immediate results
• They are easy-going and laid-back with others most of the time
• They flourish on action and risk
• Usually don’t commit themselves, because they are independent and purposeful
• Self-confident

The ability of the ISTP be great at a lot of different kinds of tasks makes them very fortunate. Many doors open for them due to their preference to think introvertedly, which in turn helps them concentrate and work through problems. The kind of lifestyle, that makes the ISTP happiest is one which offers a great deal of autonomy and does not include much external enforcement of structure. The best working environment for them is flexible, or to work for themselves. They are instinctively interested in applying their great reasoning skills against known facts and data in order to find the underlying structure, or solutions to practical questions.

Our present proposal for your ISTP office mate: Tea Infuser